SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Call it what you want—better competition, a finally healthy Rico Dowdle or figuring out the offensive line combination—but the Gamecock run game is one of the biggest surprises and bright spots through five games this season.

The Gamecocks have the fifth-best rushing attack in the SEC (203.8 yards per game) and a lot of praise should go to Rico Dowdle and Tavien Feaster, who have carried the offense through a lot of games but another big reason for success lately has come from the pin and pull scheme South Carolina’s relied on heavily the last few games.

“Well, I think, as much as anything, what I've learned over the years is find you some runs that you like and you feel like you can execute and you can block versus three down, you can block versus four down, you can block versus pressure, and that's just something over the period of time since we've been here that we've felt comfortable with,” Will Muschamp said.

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The pin and pull run scheme is pretty simple when broken down and works really well with outside runs, which the Gamecocks run heavily and can be implemented with RPOs as well.

The concept is this: the tight end will block down and block the defensive end or tackle, whoever is in front of him, blocking down. That usually leaves the edge rusher free, but the pin and pull scheme accounts for that.

In this run plan, two offensive linemen pull around the end, with one sealing off that free body and the other free to head into the second level to block a linebacker or defensive back. It’s designed to give the running back an alley to run through so he’s matched up in the open field with someone.

“The offensive line is executing their jobs well, getting to their guys, climbing to the backside backer and we’re getting pullers coming through,” Dowdle said. “Our goal is to get one on one with the second level and we’ve been doing it.”

They used it on Rico Dowdle's touchdown run in 12 personnel—one back, two tight ends—where Nick Muse blocked down and the guards pulled, paving the way for a 30-yard scoring play.

The Gamecocks run the scheme out of a few different formations with the tight end attached or detached from the line or split out wide. Regardless of what formation they’re running it out of, it still requires linemen with the ability to pull and get around the line and into the secondary.

“We’re more athletic up front. You've got to have guys that are athletic pullers and that can block guys in space, 'cause it's easier said than done as far as when you're pulling and you weigh over 300 pounds and you're blocking, generally, a guy that's moving in space,” Muschamp said. “How many times do you see on a screen and offensive linemen that just completely whiff a guy in space? Well, you got to be athletic to do that, and I think we've recruited well up front. Our guys are more athletic. They're able to anchor in contact, in space on people, and that's been just something that's been productive for us.”

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With a pin and pull concept, a lot of times the center and the guard on the nearside—the side the ball is going to—pull but sometimes the Gamecocks switch it up.

There are a few instances where Donell Stanley pulls, but a lot of times the guards Jovaughn Gwyn and Jordan Rhodes are the two guys making their way around the line. There have been a few times Kyle Markway, a tight end, has pulled.

“Right now, this is the most athletic we’ve been up front in a couple years,” Eric Douglas said. “We like to get out in space and run. If we can get out in space and run and cover up some of those guys, it gets the running back some space.”

The goal of a scheme like this is to make it so the running back gets an advantage with the line already paving the way for three or four yards before the back even comes close to getting touched.

It worked really well against Kentucky with Dowdle and Feaster both going over 100 yards and finding their way into the end zone at least once—Feaster scored twice—and puts a lot of strain on opposing defensive backs.

“I’m a corner, so it puts the stress on me when you’re seeing two big guys pulling and it’s just you and the running back,” Jaycee Horn said. “You know that’s not a good matchup. You just have to make a play, but it definitely gives the defense a lot of problems.”